Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Challenge Anybody in World Cup Qualifying Draw

Wales football team celebration

Wales have secured 8 of their previous sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy

The team's focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and potential final rivals.

After ended second in their qualifying pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will relish a tie against any team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many people were saying last night, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local feel?'. I think many supporters didn't. But personally, that would be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are decent and Ireland, of course, they're a very good team so it will be difficult.

"However you just feel that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed

Wales sit 34th in the world rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania enjoyed a strong qualifying run, with their only defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, Albania have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on each times.

While Slovenia and Sweden had difficult campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single loss came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his country's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having taken just one point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in their group in thrilling style.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

James Hernandez
James Hernandez

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